The Son becomes the Father and the Father the Son
by Eviefan
Summary: Superman's thoughts after Lois visits the hospital and when he sees Jason for the first time with new eyes. Please Review, and thanks in advance


**Disclaimer: **Superman Returns is not mine. I only claim the idea on the story based off of what I saw in the movie.

**Summary:** Superman's thoughts that night when he finds out he has a son, and visits Jason for the first time knowing that he is the little boy's father.

**The Son becomes the Father and the Father the Son**

It would have been so easy to succumb to the darkness that had surrounded him. There was no longer a place in the world where Superman fit in, and when he flew off of the plane and told Lois 'Goodbye' he had never expected to see her again. Somewhere in the darkness a voice had reached him, and he knew in an instant that it was Lois. The words she spoke were whispered but he heard them clearly and his mind reeled with what she had revealed to him.

When he finally woke up he found himself in a hospital room with heart monitors hooked to his chest. Superman remembered taking the Kryptonian land mass that Lex Luthor had grown from his crystals into space and recalled how that singular task had taken everything out of him. He knew that Lois had been in his hospital room and realized that she had not been a dream. Still weakened by kryptonite poisoning, it was difficult for the Man of Steel to even sit up in bed. Once he was finally sitting up, he pulled the heart monitors off of his chest and walked over to the chair where his suit was laying and quickly dressed. He hesitated at the window, knowing that the doctors and nurses who had been looking after him would likely wonder where he had gone, but none of that mattered. He lifted off of the floor and glided out of the open window, and shot up into the air. When he reached the stratosphere he flew to the west until he was basking in the glow of the sun and regaining his energy. Once he felt strong enough, Superman returned to Metropolis slowing down in flight as he approached the Lane/White household. As he hovered over the house he peered into the house using his X-ray vision and found Lois first. She was still awake sitting at her computer, and next to the room she occupied he found Richard asleep in the master bedroom. Superman scanned the area around the house. Their neighbors' houses were far enough away, with enough trees and foliage for him not to risk being spotted, and he descended from the sky until he was hovering right outside of Jason's room.

The window was already open just a small way, and quietly Superman opened it enough so that he could fit through, and glided into Jason's room _My son, _he thought as he watched Jason sleep. Never in any of his dreams had he imagined that he could be a father, and never had he seen a child more perfect. Knowing that Jason was his son and seeing him with that knowledge was like seeing him for the first time. Superman walked over to the bed without making a sound and knelt down. His blue eyes scanned over his son's body memorizing him. Jason had dark hair, though lighter than Lois' or his. Lois had said that he was fragile, and with the long list of medicines she had recited that first day Superman had met Jason, it was obvious.

That was the part of him that made him human, but Jason was also Kryptonian, and Superman knew that this little boy's life would change, and that he wouldn't always understand why. The new father also knew that there would have to be precautions take to keep both Jason and Lois safe. His thoughts drifted to Richard who was the only father his son had known, and wasn't sure if he should try to take his place. After taking a breath, Superman returned his gaze to his son's face smiling just a little. "You will be different. Sometimes you'll feel like an outcast but you will never be alone." He spoke those words from his heart. Superman knew that Jason would have to know the truth, and unlike when he was a boy, Jason would have someone on his side who truly understood the changes that were happening to him.

He reached out tenderly placing his hand upon Jason's head. "You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son." Those words that had been spoken to him so long ago by his own father were now the ones that he passed on to his own son. Slowly, Superman withdrew his hand from Jason's head watching as he turned away. He did not want to leave his son, but he knew that the world awaited him. As he stood up, still watching his little boy, Superman knew that he would make changes in his own life. Somehow he would have to learn to balance his time with the world and his son. He lifted off of the wooden floor and flew out the window moving out over the river as he heard Jason's voice. "Goodnight."

Superman turned around and found Jason standing at his open window, with Lois below it. She looked surprised to see him and started to say something but then stopped.

He smiled at her, acknowledging without words how thankful he was that she had told him about their son. They had much they needed to discuss, but not on this night.

"Will we see you around?" he heard her ask.

"I'm always around. Goodnight Lois." Taking one last look at her and Jason, Superman soared into the air up over the house flying high above the city into the clouds. For the first time in his life he didn't feel alone. He was now a part of something greater than himself. He had a child to protect and he hoped that he could be a part of Jason's life. As he flew out into the stratosphere the sun greeted him, warming his body, but not as much as knowing that he was Jason's father had warmed his heart filling up all the emptiness he had felt upon his return.


End file.
